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North Slope - Wednesday morning, at 10 a.m., an exploratory well exploded leaving 30 to 40 barrels of mud on top of snow and on the Respol oil rig.
The event took place at the Q2 exploration site, near the mouth of the Colville River. The Colville River is in the Arctic Circle and feeds into the Arctic Ocean.
While drilling the crew hit a gas pocket, which caused the eruption.
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will be on site Thursday to see what the mud consists of.
Officials said that because of the uncertainty of the situation DEC would only be working the site if it is considered a safe environment.
All Respol personnel were evacuated off of the pad as a safety precaution.